Celebrate Success

One of my weaknesses as a leader is that I don't celebrate success.  "Yeah, we did great, it was awesome, what's next?" is my style, and that's not good.  In "Celebrate Team's Success and Boost Business," Brenda Bence talks about some of the positive effects of celebrating success:

• It motivates employees to work harder.
• It unifies the team around common goals.
• It uplifts employees' mind-sets from ongoing tasks to a celebration.
• It communicates the kind of goals the organization values.
• It builds momentum by illustrating that progress is happening.
• It reminds them that they work for a winning organization.

How does this apply in your life?

Deus Ex Machina

Deus ex machina means "god out of the machine" and is a plot device used in movies where an impossible problem is suddenly solved by a (typically ridiculously contrived) intervention of a new character or event or ability. When it happens, you roll your eyes because you know that doesn't happen in real life.

Here's the only problem: We DO think it happens in real life. So many spouses are in miserable marriages and are waiting for something magical is going to happen to make everything better. Pastors lead churches that aren't growing and keep going for that one magic bullet that will propel them to explosive growth. Overweight people search for that one special diet.

But there is no deus ex machina. Change happens and problems are solved through a vital connection with God, cultivated over the long haul, and then disciplined and repeated steps in the right direction ... over the long haul.

Winehouse and Lohan and Sheen, Oh My.

Yesterday was Amy Winehouse's funeral. She was 27 when she died on Friday, and it's got to be one of the least surprising early deaths ever. In fact, I just found a website that, on December 13th, 2007 did a poll for what day Winehouse would die, offering an iPod to the person who guessed the exact date.

It's heart breaking. She was some mommy's daughter, and God the Father's precious child. Jesus died for her.

And it should be a wake-up call. When the celebrities and superstar athletes and powerful politicians and corporate giants have everything someone could want, but develop addictions because they're constantly seeking more, and lives that implode and are so pathetic they become jokes, it should be a wake-up call. What we think will satisfy us - money, fame, power, success - it's not enough and never will be.  It wasn't for them, and it won't be for us.

We were made for God.  And we will forever be restless and desperately seeking until we find our satisfaction in Him.

VERVE Happs

I was gone on Sunday because I was speaking at one of our supporting churches, Savannah Christian.  They are one of my favorite churches. I am SO impressed with a megachurch like that (I think 6,000+ people) who are so focused on God's Kingdom and invest so much money and energy into missions and church planting. I pray God helps us at Verve to be that kind of church.

Came back on Sunday night and was able to be at Verve on Sunday night. Becca led worship for the first time and, wow, what a voice. God has given us so many talented people it's amazing.

Attendance has been down the last two weeks - where are you Ververs? On vacation? C'mon people, don't make me hunt you down!

Fear the Alternative

There's an old saying:  A hero is a man who is afraid to run away.

So what are you afraid of?  Perhaps you need to instead fear the alternative. 

• Afraid of sharing your faith with friends? Instead, fear them never hearing about Jesus.
• Afraid of tithing? Instead, fear never making an eternal impact with your money.
• Afraid of staying in a difficult marriage? Instead, fear the consequences of divorce.

You get the idea. But will you do it? Seriously, what are you afraid of? Think about what will happen if you let fear rule instead of staring down your fear and taking action in spite of it.

this weekend @ VERVE

We're continuing our Losing My Religion series, and we'll be in Galatians, chapter 3 in the New Testament.  This week you will hear a story that you won't believe and will be able to use to ridicule someone for the rest of his life, you may seem some exclusive footage from this seasons The Bachelorette, you'll hear the most popular song of the year, and more, oh so much more.

So why would you possibly miss that?  The temperature is going to be over 100 degrees?! Please child, you live in Las Vegas, where the sun blazes and you stick to your car seat, but you deal with it, and you get to Verve, even if you have heat stroke on the way!

Influences

When I teach church planting seminars or coach planters I sometimes talk about intentionally choosing your influences. Obviously if the Bible speaks on a topic, we should follow the Bible. But what about when it doesn't? I think one of the (many) reasons churches reach church goers (rather than people who don't like church) is because they look to other churches for their influences. We've tried to intentionally find non-church influences for non-theological issues. Here are some examples of influences you can use:

• How should you do your church lobby? Don't look at another church, look at Starbucks.
• You may want to check out Disney for how they do "skits" - especially noticing how they often have an audience member volunteer in a role. It breaks down the barrier between the "crowd" and the stage, and makes it more fun for everyone.
• We have followed Conan O'Brien's lead on having some recurring "characters."
• Style of music? Listen to what's hot on the radio not in Australian churches.
• Children's Ministry? Why do kids love to go to Chuck E. Cheese?
• For tips on speaking style? Watch some professional comedians.
• Color scheme? Graphic design? What websites and magazines do the people you're trying to reach read?

Micro Groups

One of the highlights of each week for me are meeting with the guys in my two Micro Groups. When we first moved to Vegas we assumed we would do typical "Small Groups" - 10 to 15 people meeting in a living room for some social time and a little Bible study.

But after studying Vegas and lots of prayer, we changed our minds. We learned that there is a reluctance in Vegas for people to go into a stranger's house. We also realized that people's schedules are so crazy here it would be difficult to pick days and times that would work for majorities of people.

We also knew that while Small Groups are good for developing friendships, they're often not nearly as effective in developing disciples - true, devoted followers of Jesus.

And so instead we've been doing Micro Groups - 3 to 5 guys or girls meeting (typically) in a more public space (our Venue, a Starbucks, etc.) for accountability, encouragement, and a little Bible application. I have two groups, and we're really honest, go really deep, and really help each other.

If you're a Verver and not in a Micro Group, the first step is to to one of our core Verve University courses (Verge, Verb, or Verse), and then we'd love to get you plugged in!

VERVE Happs

I was gone most of the week at camp, which was awesome.

Great to be back in Vegas and at Verve. I love our church and love the people I get to work with everyday. I realize a lot of people can't say that, so I'm grateful.

Our service was a little different this week, but I thought really great. I'm really enjoying our new Losing My Religion series, getting to teach through Galatians. It's more "theology" kind of stuff than everyday felt need kind of stuff, but it's the most critical things we need to know.

Lots of cool stuff about to happen:  The summer semester of Verve University starts this Wednesday night with two courses. This time we're doing something different with a class specifically for men and another for women. You can find out more and register here.

Family Movie Night is happening on Sunday, July 31. You can vote on the movie at our Facebook page.

We're planning a Guerrilla Lover ambush: We're collecting supplies for the teachers of Dean Peterson Elementary School and will give them out in August. Get the list of supplies at Verve and drop off what you get in the box in the lobby.

Vince Recommends...

Usually I recommend amazing products and experiences and restaurants that change your life and leave you indebted to me forever.  Today, something different.  I want to recommend a few tips on good email etiquette.

1. NEVER CC a group of people unless you have a very specific and intentional reason for doing so. If you're emailing your staff and want them all to interact on the topic, okay.  But I do not want to be included in some group email in a way that gives my email address out, or allows people to "reply to all" and now I'm having to receive all their responses. There's a blind copy function for a reason.
2. Keep your email as short as possible.  Definitely under ten sentences.
3. Strategically use the subject line - let the person know why you're emailing.
4. If you're asking for something, ask for it.  Don't hint, ask.

You're welcome!

Lost Souls

Did you read that the Oregon State Hospital was closed? It was a mental institution and happened to be where the movie, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was filmed. I guess politicians had been talking for years about the need to replace it, amid complaints of overcrowding, crumbling floors, and sexual abuse of children by staff members. But what finally convinced them was a tour of the facility in 2004 where they found ... the cremated remains of 3,600 mental patients in corroding copper canisters in a storage room. The remains belonged to patients who died at the hospital from the late 1880's to the mid-1970's.

Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney dubbed the chamber "the room of lost souls." Courtney added that seeing the urns "created such an emotional momentum" for replacing the hospital.

It's too bad they had to see the remains of dead people to inspire them to change. Maybe they should have cared enough about the living to do something to improve their lives while they were here?

And so what about us? I wonder if someday when we get to Heaven we'll get to see "the room of lost souls." If so, I'm sure it will create in us an "emotional momentum" to share Jesus with those people, but unfortunately it will be too late. Maybe we should care enough about the living to do something now to improve their eternities while they're still here?

Don't Punt

Did you read about Kevin Kelly, coach of the Pulaski Academy football team in Little Rock, who has called for only one punt in the past two seasons. Kelley studied it and determined that punting, even on fourth and long near your own end zone, decreases the odds of the other team's scoring by only a slim amount. So he decided that going for it will pay off over the long run. And he won the Arkansas state championship this year, and may again this year.

I wonder if that has some application to life, to church, to ministry. Way too often we play it safe, trying to prevent something negative from happening, when instead we need to just be going for it.

Where have you been punting, but really need to take a risk and go for it?

this weekend @ VERVE

We are continuing out new series
Losing My Religion and we'll be talking about our need to be "in."  What have you done in your life just to be in? And how might your life (dramatically) improve if you started playing for an audience of one?  You may never know, unless you show up at Verve this weekend!

Also, if you haven't yet signed up for our two new courses of Verve University (Fight Club and Get Out of That Pit), this is your last Sunday and Monday to do that.  Or you can register right now online!

Now We Need Two Bridges?!?

In his book, They Like Jesus But Not the Church, Dan Kimball provides a good illustration of our current problem. He writes about the old bridge illustration, which you’ve probably heard. It’s a way of explaining what Jesus did on the cross. The idea is that God and man are supposed to be together, in relationship. But we’ve sinned and there is now a great chasm between us. It’s like our sin dug a grand canyon between us and God, and there’s no way we can traverse it. But Jesus died and His cross provides a bridge over the divide. If we say yes to Him we can (in a sense) walk over the cross and be re-united with God on the other side.

Not my favorite illustration, but in the last era it was somewhat effective. The thing holding people back from coming to God was not understanding their sin and its consequences. So if you could clearly explain the impact of the cross, that person might say yes and come into relationship with God.

But things have changed. There are now two things holding people back from coming to God. One is not understanding sin and its consequences, but the other is Christians. It’s no longer just their sin keeping them from reuniting with God through Jesus; it’s also their image of Christians. Because to accept Christ is to become a Christian, and that may be the very last thing this person wants to be.

So now we need two bridges. Jesus bridged the sin chasm with the cross, but it’s up to us to bridge the image chasm … with our lives. We need to bust the negative stereotypes people have of Christians, and of church. And it won’t be easy.

E! THS: Vince Antonucci

I've tried to keep this hidden but ... a couple years ago I was the subject of an E! True Hollywood Story episode. Don't believe me? Well, then check this out:

VERVE Happs

Things just seem to be going really well at Verve right now.  Our attendance this summer has consistently been about 25% more than our attendance the year before.  We had 27 baptisms in May and June (compare that to 50 in our first 14 months), and had 6 more this weekend (so now 33 in the last nine weeks).  We have more people stepping up to volunteer.  All kinds of great signs of real health.

Started a new series this week, Losing My Religion, in which we're studying through the book of Galatians. It's amazing how something written to people 1,960 years ago, who lived half-way across the globe, can be so totally relevant to us today in America.

Gonna be at a camp the rest of this week, so a few of the posts the next few days are going to be old one's.  But unless you've been reading my blog for years, they'll be new to you.  Enjoy.

Vince Recommends...

I used to have a Dell computer. Worked pretty good, but I've switched to Mac. I'm not in the Apple Cult, but I guess I wouldn't recommend a Dell.

I like Deli's. I'm especially fond of a good Reuben, or of the Taco Salad with southwest chicken chili at Jason's Deli. But I'm not sure I'm a big enough fan to recommend a Deli.

I definitely think Del Taco is better than Taco Bell, but I'm also definitely not going to recommend Del Taco.

But ... I can strongly recommend Adele's new CD, 21. Style wise it's clearly not in my sweet spot musically, but it's just good. Really good.

You're welcome.

Faith In Your Story, part deux

It is faith that moves mountains, not facts.

Facts do not give birth to faith. Faith needs a story to sustain it -

a meaningful story that inspires belief in you 

and renews hope that your ideas do indeed offer what you promise.

Genuine influence goes deeper than getting people to do what you want them to do.

It means people pick up where you left off because they believe.

                                                                                            -- Annette Simmons

What's the story that sustains your faith?

And if you're trying to instill faith in others (faith in God, faith in your business plan, faith in your leadership), what's the story that you're telling to generate and sustain their faith?

Faith In Your Story

In the book Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins, Annette Simmons writes:

People don't want more information.

They are up to their eyeballs in information.

They want faith - faith in you, your goals, your success, in the story you tell.

If that's true, and I think it is, what does it say about what you're doing?  About how you should try to lead, to achieve your goals, to help other people realize their dreams?

this weekend @ VERVE

I'm psyched about the series we're starting:

Losing My Religion.

We're going, chapter by chapter, through the book of Galatians in the New Testament, to learn how to lose our religion so we can find a life-changing relationship with God.

Also, sign-ups are happening for the new semester of Verve University, which starts on July 20. The two courses are 6 weeks long, are on Wednesdays from 6:35 to 8 p.m., and are:   

• Fight Club: For guys only, a real and raw discussion of how to be a man of God in a culture that doesn't help any 
• Get Out of That Pit: For ladies only, incredibly practical teaching on how to get out of the pits women tend to fall into in life.

THE Question

Here's the question I want answered when I've spent time with a Christian:

When I'm with you, do I sense that you've been with Jesus?

I don't care what you look like, and you're not going to impress me with your cool clothes or haircut, and honestly you can keep your accomplishments to yourself - I don't need to see your resume. I just want to know: Is Jesus really your treasure? Are you hanging out with Him? Are you allowing Him to transform you, even if it's happening little by little?

The intimidating thing is that that's the question people should be asking about me...

VERVE Happs

With it being the 4th of July weekend, we wondered if anyone would show up this Sunday and especially Monday night.  But we had a decent crowd Sunday, and better than expected on Monday - as we concluded our A Life Worth Watching series.

On Monday night we had a decent crowd of Ververs at the M to watch the fireworks.  If you were there, you got to see me burn the crap out of my hand because of my bright idea to play catch with sparklers.  Kids: Don't play catch with sparklers.

Next weekend we're starting a new series: Losing My Religion.  We're going to study through the book of Galatians.

Next Sunday and Monday we also have a few people getting baptized after our services.  If you'd like to as well, let us know!

Here's the video we showed this weekend:

Freedom Fighter

Want to know something about me that's a little embarrassing? For awhile, back in Virginia Beach, when I drove to church on Sunday mornings and was trying to get myself ready to preach, I would listen to the song Freedom Fighter by Creed.

I think that's the role of every pastor, we're freedom fighters. Why? Galatians 5:1, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

Happy Independence Day!

Quick Response

I won't drop names, but God has given me quite a few big time friends. By "big time," I don't mean that they're better or more important than anyone else, but just that they're, well, big time. Highly successful, very sought after. A few lead some of the biggest churches in the country, others are ridiculously successful in the business world.

Here's one thing I've noticed they almost all have in common: They respond to their own e-mail, and they do it immediately. The irony is that these guys get hundreds of e-mails a day, but respond much faster than my friends who have smaller churches or businesses and get maybe a couple dozen e-mails a day.

Makes you think, doesn't it?

Vault Quotes

If you haven't registered yet for Vault, our conference (I call it an immersive seminar) on how to do church for people who don't like church (with a lot of special emphasis for church planters), you need to soon. We only take about 100 people, so the opportunity won't last (especially with John Burke - author of No Perfect People Allowed and pastor of Gateway Church - doing three sessions this year!) So register today!

Here are some quotes from people who attended Vault last year:

"I have been to several conferences and this is by far the best- from content to friendliness of the staff. Thanks!"

"Best conference content ever!"

"At the risk of sounding dramatic- they changed my life…I will never ever think the same way about so many things. Thank you,thank you, thank you."

"Unbelievable stories that really helped revive my vision that this is about individual lives being changed…one at a time."

"I very much appreciated the availability of Vince & Rob through out the conference for questions and getting to know them."

"Thank you so much for doing this! I needed to go to something like this to reinforce what God's doing in and through me. And the practical ideas are great!"

"Please please please have it again!"

this weekend @ VERVE

We all go through crap.  It's true.  Think about some of the difficult circumstances you've gone through, or are going through...  An illness.  A loved one being sick.  Joblessness.  More bills than cash.  A devastating breakup.  Your struggles with an addiction.

The Bible would call those hard times "trials," and trials are bad things, right?  We know they're bad because ... well ...
they feel bad.  So they are bad, right?

What if I were to tell you they're good, and that they're necessary to live a life of faith, and to end up with a life worth watching?  Sound dumb?  Then you totally need to be at Verve this weekend as we conclude our current series by talking about The Trials of Faith.